Call Screening Method And Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cellular telephone system is provided with a process and apparatus for screening an incoming call. The process is carried out by, and the apparatus comprises, a service provider ( 20 ) and a mobile station ( 30 ). The mobile station ( 30 ) answers the incoming call and places the call on hold. The mobile station ( 30 ) connects to the service provider ( 20 ) and places the service provider ( 20 ) and the incoming caller on multi-party hold. The mobile station ( 30 ) then signals the service provider ( 20 ) to begin screening the call. In response, the service provider ( 20 ) prompts the incoming caller for the incoming caller&#39;s identification and then communicates this information to the mobile station ( 30 ). Based on this information, the mobile station ( 30 ) can elect to accept or reject the incoming call.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/938,233 filed Sep. 10, 2004, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/530,124 filed Apr. 24, 2000, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,807,256, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety, which was the National Stage ofInternational application No. PCT/US98/22736 filed Oct. 27, 1998, whichclaimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/064,201, filed Nov. 4, 1997, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to systems and methods for screening incomingcalls to a mobile station, or a handset, in a cellular telephone system.Particularly, this invention relates to systems and methods forscreening incoming calls to a cellular-telephone mobile station in whichthe mobile station performs the control function in the system ormethod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The screening of incoming calls is important to cellular telephone usersbecause many cellular-telephone subscriber plans provide for billingsubscribers for incoming-answered, as well as outgoing, calls. Thesubscriber who knows the identity of the incoming caller can choose toanswer only those incoming calls for which the subscriber wishes to pay.Moreover, the subscriber who knows the identity of the incoming callercan choose to answer the call or allow the incoming caller to leave avoice message depending upon the subscriber's priorities, timeconstraints, and other considerations.

There are several methods and products that allow the user of atelephone to screen incoming calls. U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,671 to Partridgecites some of them and explains their disadvantages, and its disclosureis incorporated by reference. Answering machines are probably the mostpopular method of call screening in use today. One of the disadvantagesof the answering-machine method is that a connection is made between theincoming caller and the answering machine even if the incoming call isunwanted. In a cellular system, the user of an answering machine mightpay for the time the incoming caller takes to leave a message. The“Caller ID” feature is also a popular method of call screening. Amongthe disadvantages of the “Caller ID” feature is that some systemsprovide for identifying only the telephone number from which theincoming call originates. Also, state of the art cellular systems do notprovide the “Caller ID” feature.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,671 to Partridge discloses an invention forselectively screening incoming calls for cellular telephone systems. Theinvention disclosed therein maintains a preselected list of calleridentities, such as telephone numbers. The user predesignates treatmentfor each identity, such as forward to the user's cellular telephone,offer the caller the option of paying for the call, or other treatment.An incoming call is compared to the preselected list and is treated inthe manner predesignated. One of the disadvantages of this invention isthat it requires predesignation of treatment. It does not allow the userto make dynamic decisions regarding how to treat the incoming call basedupon the user's needs and desires at the time of the incoming call.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,860 to Mizikovsky discloses an invention forscreening incoming calls at a mobile station. In a manner similar to theinvention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,671, the invention disclosedtherein compares the incoming call to a preselected list containingcalling party identification data and corresponding predesignatedresponse categories. The invention responds to the incoming call in themanner indicated by the preselected list. This invention has the samedisadvantages as those of the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,473,671. In particular, dynamic decisions by the user are notpermitted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides processes and apparatus for screening anincoming call from an incoming call in a cellular telecommunicationssystem. The processes are carried out by, and the apparatus comprises, aservice provider and a mobile station. The mobile station answers theincoming call and places the call on hold. The mobile station connectsto the service provider and places the service provider and the incomingcaller on multi-party hold. The mobile station then signals the serviceprovider to begin screening the call. In response, the service providerprompts the incoming caller for the incoming caller's identification andthen communicates this information to the mobile station. Based on thisinformation, the mobile station can elect to accept or reject theincoming call.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a processand product to screen incoming telephone calls. It is a further objectof the present invention to provide for the dynamic screening ofincoming telephone calls. It is a still further object of the presentinvention to provide for screening of incoming calls that lessens theamount of time spent by a cellular-telephone-service subscriberanswering unwanted calls and expending money paying for those calls. Itis a still further object of the present invention to provide a processand product to screen incoming telephone calls in which the mobilestation controls the operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a product in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A is a flow chart illustrating a first portion of an embodiment ofthe claimed process, showing particularly the action of a mobilestation.

FIG. 2B is a flow chart illustrating a second portion of an embodimentof the claimed process, showing particularly the action of a mobilestation.

FIG. 2C is a flow chart illustrating a third portion of an embodiment ofthe claimed process, showing particularly the action of a mobilestation.

FIG. 2D is a flow chart illustrating a fourth portion of an embodimentof the claimed process, showing particularly the action of a mobilestation.

FIG. 2E is a flow chart illustrating a fifth portion of an embodiment ofthe claimed process, showing particularly the action of a mobilestation.

FIG. 2F is a flow chart illustrating a sixth portion of an embodiment ofthe claimed process, showing particularly the action of a mobilestation.

FIG. 2G is a flow chart illustrating a seventh portion of an embodimentof the claimed process, showing particularly the action of a mobilestation.

FIG. 3A is a flow chart illustrating a first portion of anotherembodiment of the claimed process, showing particularly the action of amobile station.

FIG. 3B is a flow chart illustrating a second portion of anotherembodiment of the claimed process, showing particularly the action of amobile station.

FIG. 4A is a flow chart illustrating a first portion of an embodiment ofthe claimed process, showing particularly the action of a serviceprovider.

FIG. 4B is a flow chart illustrating a second portion of an embodimentof the claimed process, showing particularly the action of a serviceprovider.

FIG. 4C is a flow chart illustrating a third portion of an embodiment ofthe claimed process, showing particularly the action of a serviceprovider.

FIG. 4D is a flow chart illustrating a fourth portion of an embodimentof the claimed process, showing particularly the action of a serviceprovider.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

One embodiment of the present invention includes a process for screeningan incoming call from an incoming caller wherein the apparatus forcarrying out the process comprises a mobile station and a serviceprovider, said process comprising the following steps: a) sendingcommunication from an incoming caller to the service provider regardingthe incoming caller, b) sending communication from the service providerto the mobile station regarding the incoming caller; c) selecting one ofa set comprising (1) accepting the incoming call and (2) rejecting theincoming call.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes a process forscreening an incoming call from an incoming caller wherein the apparatusfor carrying out the process comprises a mobile station, said processcomprising the following steps: a) answering an incoming call from anincoming caller, b) placing said incoming caller on hold; c)communicating with a service provider, d) placing the service providerand the incoming caller on multi-party hold; and e) signalling theservice provider to begin screening.

Another embodiment further comprises the following step: f) receivingcommunication from the service provider indicating information receivedfrom the incoming caller.

Another embodiment further comprises the following step: g) selectingone of a set comprising (1) accepting the call and (2) rejecting thecall.

Another embodiment further comprises the following steps: h) in theevent that accepting the call was selected in step g), disconnectingcommunication with the service provider, and i) in the event thatrejecting the call was selected in step g), signalling the serviceprovider that the service provider should handle the incoming call.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes a process forscreening an incoming call from an incoming caller wherein the apparatusfor carrying out the process comprises a service provider, said processcomprising the following steps: a) receiving communication from a mobilestation indicating a desire to connect; b) connecting with the mobilestation; c) receiving communication from the mobile station to beginscreening an incoming call from an incoming caller; d) collectinginformation regarding the incoming caller, and e) communicatinginformation collected in step d) to the mobile station.

Another embodiment further comprises the following step: f) receivingcommunication from the mobile station indicating further action desiredby a user of the mobile station.

Another embodiment further comprises the following step: g)communicating the further action desired by the mobile station's user tothe mobile station.

Another embodiment includes the following step: h) in the event that thecommunication received in step f) indicates a desire to accept the call,disconnecting communication with the mobile station.

Another embodiment comprises the following step: i) in the event thatthe communication received in step f) indicates a desire to reject thecall, prompting the incoming caller for information.

Another embodiment comprises the following step: j) disconnectingcommunication with the mobile station.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes a process forscreening an incoming call from an incoming caller wherein the apparatusfor carrying out the process comprises a mobile station and a serviceprovider, said process comprising the following steps: a) answering anincoming call from an incoming caller; b) placing said incoming calleron hold; c) sending communication from the mobile station to a serviceprovider indicating a desire to connect; d) receiving communication tothe service provider from the mobile station indicating a desire toconnect; e) connecting the mobile station and the service provider, f)placing the service provider and the incoming caller on multi-partyhold; g) sending communication to the service provider from the mobilestation signalling the service provider to begin screening; h) receivingcommunication from the mobile station to the service provider signallingthe service provider to begin screening; i) collecting information fromthe incoming caller; j) sending communication regarding informationcollected in step i) from the service provider to the mobile station; k)receiving communication from the service provider to the mobile stationregarding information collected in step i); l) selecting one of a setcomprising (1) accepting the call and (2) rejecting the call; m) in theevent that accepting the call was selected in step l), disconnecting theconnection between the service provider and the mobile station; and n)in the event that rejecting the call was selected in step l), signallingthe service provider that the service provider should handle theincoming call.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes an apparatus forscreening an incoming call for use in cellular telecommunications, saidapparatus comprising: a service provider; and a mobile station; whereinsaid service provider is programmed to collect information regarding anincoming caller's identification and to communicate at least part ofsaid information to said mobile station; and wherein said mobile stationis programmed to receive communications from said service providerregarding said information and to communicate said information to a userof said mobile station, whereby said user can select one of a setcomprising (1) accepting the incoming call and (2) rejecting theincoming call.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a service provider 20, or aservice node. The apparatus also includes a mobile station 30, orhandset. The service provider 20 and the mobile station 30 are incommunication 35. The attributes and operation of a service provider anda mobile station are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art ofthe present invention. The service provider 20 and mobile station 30shown in FIG. 1 have all of the standard attributes of service providersand mobile stations known in the art today. The operation of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1 is best described by reference to the processwhich the apparatus carries out. The process is described below.

FIGS. 2A-2G are linked flowcharts showing an embodiment of the presentinvention in detail. The flowcharts in FIGS. 2A-2G describe theoperation of the mobile station, or handset, during the carrying out ofan embodiment of the present invention. The mobile station and theservice provider take the steps shown in FIGS. 2A-2G, 3A-3B, and 4A-4Din cooperation with each other to carry out the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. The embodiment shown therein is described below.

In the process shown, the mobile station starts at idle 10. An incomingcaller calls the mobile station and the mobile station receives the call12. The mobile station carries out the step of answering the incomingcall. As shown in FIG. 2A, the mobile station answers the call 100 fromthe incoming caller. This answering 100 occurs without alerting themobile-station user. For example, this answering 100 occurs without themobile station ringing. The mobile station user can elect to be alertedwhen this answering 100 occurs, however.

The mobile station then carries out the step of placing the incomingcaller on hold. As shown in FIG. 2A, the mobile station attempts toplace the incoming caller on hold 102. If the attempt 102 is notacknowledged by the incoming caller 103, the caller is disconnected 99,the process ceases and the mobile station returns to idle 10. Likewise,if the incoming call is disconnected 98, the process ceases and themobile station returns to idle 10.

If the hold is acknowledged 101, and is thus successful, the mobilestation carries out the step of communicating with a service provider orservice node. As shown in FIG. 2A, the mobile station begins calling theservice provider or service node or platform 104. Immediately afterbeginning the call to the service provider 104, the mobile stationstarts a timer 106, designated herein as T1. The starting of a timer 106does not interrupt the call to the service provider, and the callcontinues 108. The timer T1 governs the amount of time the mobilestation will wait for the service platform to connect. The timer expirespreferably in a very short amount of time, between approximately fiveand six seconds.

As shown in FIG. 2B, if the service provider does not answer after apredesignated time after the starting of timer T1 110, or if the callfails 111, or the service provider is busy 112, the caller isdisconnected 114, and the mobile station returns to idle mode 10. If thecall from the incoming caller is disconnected in a manner notspecifically provided for 116, e.g., the caller hangs up, the pendingcall to the service provider is released 118, and the mobile stationreturns to idle mode 10.

If the service provider answers the mobile station's call and connects120, the timer, T1, is stopped 122. Then, the mobile station carries outthe step of placing the service provider and the incoming caller onmulti-party hold. As shown in FIG. 2A, the mobile station begins puttingthe caller and the service provider in multi-party 124, i.e. attempts tobridge the caller and the service provider. If the multi-party is notacknowledged 128, the mobile station will disconnect both the caller andthe service provider 130 and return to idle 10. If either the incomingcaller or the service provider disconnects from the connection with themobile station 132, the mobile station will disconnect the remainingconnection 134, and will return to idle 10. If the multi-party isacknowledged 136, and is thus successful, the handset begins placing theconnection between the three parties on multi-party hold 138. If themulti-party hold is not acknowledged 139, the mobile station disconnectsboth the incoming caller and the service provider 140 and returns toidle mode 10. If either the incoming caller or the service providerdisconnects from the multi-party 142, the mobile station disconnects theremaining connected-party 144 and returns to idle 10. If the hold isacknowledged 146, and is thus successful, the parties are in multi-partyhold.

Once the parties are in multi-party hold 146, the mobile station carriesout the step of signalling the service provider to begin screening. Asshown in FIG. 2B, the mobile station signals the service provider tobegin screening 150 and awaits the service provider's response 154. Themobile station preferably makes this communication using UnstructuredSupplementary Service Data (USSD). Once this signal is received, theservice provider carries out the step of collecting information from theincoming caller. The service provider prompts the incoming caller forthe caller's name and awaits the caller's response. For example, theservice provider plays the following message to the incoming caller:“Please state your name” and then records the caller's response. Theservice provider's action in this regard is described in further detailbelow and in FIGS. 4A-4D.

As shown in FIG. 2C, if either the incoming caller or the serviceprovider disconnects from the connection with the mobile station 156while the service provider is awaiting the caller's response 154, themobile station disconnects the remaining connection 158 and return toidle mode 10. If the service provider receives no response from theincoming caller or the name-collect fails for some other reason and theservice provider communicates that the name-collect failed to the mobilestation 160, the mobile station disconnects both the incoming caller andthe service provider 162 and returns to idle mode 10. The communicationof name collect failure is preferably completed using USSD. If theincoming caller's response is successfully collected by the serviceprovider, the mobile station will receive a signal that the name wascollected from the service provider 164. The service provider preferablymakes this communication using USSD.

As shown in FIG. 2C, once the mobile station receives the successfulname-collection signal 164, the mobile station starts a timer 168,designated T2. Then, the mobile station will begin ringing 170. Themobile station will continue ringing until either the service provideror the calling party disconnects 174, the timer T2 reaches apredesignated expiration time 178, or the mobile station is answered172. The timer T2 governs the amount of time the process waits for themobile station user to answer.

Once the mobile station begins ringing, as shown in FIG. 2C, if theeither the service provider or the calling party disconnects 174, thenthe mobile station stops ringing 175, disconnects the remaining party176, and enters idle mode 10. The timer T2 is preset to expire after adesignated amount of time, preferably thirty and forty-five seconds. Ifthe timer reaches the designated amount of time and expires 178, themobile station stops ringing 180 and signals the service provider tohandle the call 182. This signal preferably occurs using USSD. Then, theservice provider handles the call while the mobile station waits 184.This handling is discussed in further detail below. For example, theservice provider records a message on voice mail. As seen in FIG. 2F,once the service provider performs its handling of the call while themobile station waits 184, the mobile station is disconnected from theservice provider 185. Afterwards, the mobile station disconnects theincoming caller 186 and returns to idle mode 10.

The mobile station preferably is programmed to recognize voice signals.Referencing FIG. 2C, if the mobile station answers the call 172,preferably by the user of the mobile station speaking an “attentionphrase” such as “Answer,” “Attention,” or “PowerCall,” the mobilestation stops ringing 188 and stops the timer T2 189. The mobilestation, service provider, and incoming caller attempt to resumemulti-party connection 190. As seen in FIG. 2D, if the attempt to entermulti-party connection fails 192, the mobile station signals the serviceprovider to handle the call 194. This signalling preferably isaccomplished using USSD. Following this signalling 194, as seen in FIG.2F, the mobile station awaits the call handling 184. Once the serviceprovider handles the call by recording a message or other service, theconnection between the service provider and the mobile station is broken185, the connection between the mobile station and the incoming calleris disconnected 186, and the mobile station returns to idle mode 10.Referencing FIG. 2D, if the mobile station's connection with either theservice provider or the incoming caller is broken 196 while attemptingto resume multi-party 190, the mobile station will disconnect from theremaining party 198, and return to idle mode 10.

If the multi-party resumes successfully 200, the mobile station attemptsto separate the connection with the service provider from themulti-party 202. If, during this attempt, either the service provider orthe incoming caller is disconnected from the mobile station 204, themobile station disconnects the remaining party 206 and returns to idlemode 10. If the separation attempt is not acknowledged by the serviceprovider 208, the mobile station signals the service provider to handlethe call 210. This signalling is preferably accomplished with USSD.Then, the service provider handles the call as the mobile station waits184. Referring to FIG. 2F, after the service provider handles theincoming call, the service provider is disconnected 185, the incomingcaller is disconnected 186, and the mobile station returns to idle mode10.

If the separation attempt is acknowledged 212, and is thus successful,the mobile station signals the service provider to proceed withscreening 214. This signalling is preferably accomplished using USSD.The service provider's screening is described in further detail belowand is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4D.

Next, the mobile station carries out the step of receiving communicationfrom the service provider indicating the information collected from thecaller. Referring to FIG. 2D and FIG. 2E, the service providercommunicates and the mobile station receives the information provided bycaller 216. For example, the service provider plays and the mobilestation receives the following message: “Hello, [information provided bythe caller] is holding. Would you like to accept the call?” Then, theuser of the mobile station, whether by action or inaction, carries outthe step of selecting to either accept the call or reject the call.Referring to FIG. 2E, if the service provider or incoming caller isdisconnected while the decision to accept or reject the call is beingmade 218, the mobile station disconnects the remaining party 220 andreturns to idle mode 10. Referencing FIG. 2E, if the user chooses toaccept the call, the user accepts the call by saying “Yes” or by someother indication of acceptance, and this choice is communicated to theservice provider by the mobile station 222. If the user accepts the call222, the service provider communicates this acceptance to the mobilestation and the mobile station receives such communication 224. Thissignalling is preferably accomplished using USSD. The service provider'ssteps in screening and communicating during this step is describedfurther below and in FIGS. 4C and 4D.

Next, the mobile station attempts to place the service provider inmulti-party connection 226. Referring to FIG. 2G, if the incoming calleris disconnected during the attempt 270, the mobile station willdisconnect the service provider 272 and return to idle mode 10. If theattempt to place the service provider in multi-party connection isrejected 274, the mobile station disconnects the service provider andthe incoming caller 276 and returns to idle mode 10. If the attempt toplace the service provider in multi-party connection is accepted 278 andis thus successful, the mobile station places the service provider inthe multi-party connection and then attempts to separate the incomingcaller from the multi-party connection 282.

If, during the attempt to separate the incoming caller from multi-party282, the mobile station is disconnected from the incoming caller 284,the mobile station will disconnect the service provider 286 and returnto idle mode 10. If the attempt to separate the incoming caller is notacknowledged 288, the mobile station will disconnect the serviceprovider 290 and will be in Active Multi-Party state with the incomingcaller 292. Once the mobile station is in a Active Multi-Party statewith the incoming caller, the call and connection is no longerproceeding through the process described herein, and the call is beinghandled as a normal GSM call. If the attempt to separate 282 isacknowledged 294, the mobile station disconnects the service provider296, and will be in Active state with the incoming caller 298. As above,once the mobile station is in a Active state with the incoming caller,the call and connection is no longer proceeding through the processdescribed herein, and the call is being handled as a normal GSM call.

Referring to FIG. 2E, if the user chooses to reject the call, the userrejects the call by saying “No” or by some other indication ofrejection, and this choice is communicated to the service provider 234.If the user rejects the call, the service provider signals the mobilestation that the caller was rejected and the mobile station receivesthis communication 236. This signal is preferably carried out usingUSSD. The service provider's steps in carrying out this screening isdescribed further below and in FIGS. 4C and 4D. Once the mobile stationreceives the signal, the mobile station attempts to put the serviceprovider in the multi-party connection 238. If the connection betweenthe mobile station and the service provider or the incoming caller isdisconnected 240, the mobile station disconnects the remaining party 242and returns to idle mode 10. If the attempt to put the service providerin the multi-party connection is rejected 244, the mobile stationdisconnects both the service provider and the incoming caller 246 andreturns to idle mode 10.

If the attempt to put the service provider in the multi-party connectionis acknowledged 248, and is thus successful, the mobile station puts theservice provider in the multi-party connection. Next, the mobile stationattempts to place the multi-party connection on hold 252. If either theservice provider or the incoming caller is disconnected 254, the mobilestation disconnects the remaining party 256 and returns to idle mode 10.If the hold attempt is not acknowledged 258, the mobile stationdisconnects the service provider and the incoming caller 260 and returnsto idle mode 10. If the hold attempt is acknowledged 262, and is thussuccessful, the mobile station puts the multi-party on hold. Next, themobile station signals the service provider that the service providershould handle the call 266. This signalling is preferably accomplishedusing USSD. Then, the service provider performs call handling as themobile station waits 184. For example, the service provider records avoice-mail message. Referring to FIG. 2F, after the service providerperforms its handling, the service provider is disconnected from theconnection 185 and the mobile station disconnects the caller 186 andreturns to idle mode 10.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts serving to describe part of analternative embodiment of the present invention. The steps shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B substitute for steps 100-122 in the embodiment describedabove and in FIGS. 2A-2G. Otherwise, the embodiment described in FIGS.3A and 3B and below is the same as the embodiment described in FIGS.2A-2G and described above. While the embodiment described above in FIGS.2A-2G offers many advantages and addresses a need in the art of thepresent invention, the embodiment has two attributes that some may wishto avoid. In the embodiment described above, the mobile station answersthe incoming call very early in the process. Typically, the billing forthe incoming caller begins upon the mobile station's answering the call.In the above-described embodiment, if the service provider cannot acceptthe call, the incoming caller is disconnected. Thus, the incoming calleris billed for the call but was never connected to the service providerand thus never proceeded through call screening. Moreover, in theembodiment described above and in FIGS. 2A-2G, the delay between theincoming caller's call and the caller's connection to the serviceprovider could be long enough for the caller to notice the delay,conclude that the call did not go through, and disconnect. Thus, suchdelay should be avoided if possible. The alternative embodimentdescribed below and shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B seeks to alleviate thesetwo attributes of the above-described embodiment.

In the process shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the mobile station is idle 10.An incoming caller calls the mobile station 12. In the embodiment shownin FIG. 2A, the mobile station then answers the call 100 from theincoming caller. In the present embodiment, shown in FIG. 3A, after theincoming call is detected, the mobile station starts a timer, designatedT1 300.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the mobile station next calls a service provider302. The timer T1 is used to govern the amount of time that the mobilestation will wait for the service platform to answer the mobilestation's call. If T1 reaches a predesignated time or expires 304, themobile station's call to the service provider fails 306, or the serviceprovider is busy 308, the mobile station rejects the incoming callerwith a busy signal or another “user busy” indicator 310, stops the timerT1 312, disconnects the incoming caller 314, and returns to idle mode10. If the incoming caller is disconnected from the mobile station 316,the mobile station stops the timer T1 318, releases the call to theservice provider 320, and returns to idle mode 10.

If the mobile station's call to the service provider connects 322, themobile station stops the timer T1 324. Then, the mobile station attemptsto place the service provider on hold 326. Referring to FIG. 3B, if theincoming caller is disconnected 328, the mobile station disconnects theservice provider 330 and returns to idle mode 10. If the hold attempt isnot acknowledged 332, the mobile station rejects the caller with a busysignal or other “user busy” signal 334, disconnects the caller 336, andreturns to idle mode 10.

If the hold is acknowledged 338, the mobile station next answers theincoming call 340. The mobile station then attempts to put both theservice provider and the incoming caller in a multi-party connection342. From this point forward, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3Bproceeds as the embodiment described above and described in FIGS. 2A-2Gproceeds from attempting to place the calls in multi-party 124 in FIG.2B. After beginning to put both the service provider and the incomingcaller in a multi-party connection 342 (FIG. 3B), the mobile stationwaits to see if, referring to FIG. 2B, the multi-party connection isacknowledged 136, not acknowledged 128, or if the service provider orincoming caller disconnects 132. The steps of the alternative embodimentcontinue from this point as shown in FIGS. 2B-2G and as described above.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are flowcharts showing the operation of theservice provider during an embodiment of the present invention. Themobile station and the service provider take the steps shown incooperation with each other to carry out the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the service provider is in idle mode 400 and isawaiting a call from the mobile station. If the service providerreceives USSD signals while awaiting a call from the mobile station 406,the service provider responds to those signals by sending a rejectionsignal or otherwise rejecting the signals 408, and returns to idle 400.As shown in FIG. 2A and described above, the mobile station calls theservice provider 104. When the service provider receives a call from themobile station 402, the service provider answers the call 404. Thisanswering corresponds to the mobile station and the service providerconnecting 120 as shown in FIG. 2B and described above. As shown in FIG.4A, once the service provider answers the call 404, the service providerawaits a command from the mobile station 410.

If the service provider receives a disconnect indicator from the mobilestation or disconnects for any other reason 412, the service providerdoes so and returns to idle mode 400. There are several points in theprocess at which the mobile station might disconnect the serviceprovider. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, if the multi-partyconnection attempt is not acknowledged 128, the connection between themobile station and the service provider will be broken 130.

If the service provider receives a USSD signal that is not within thescope of USSD signals it is directed to handle during the process 414,it will send a rejection signal or otherwise reject the USSD signal 416.Following this rejection 416, the service provider will continue waitingfor commands 410 as before.

As described above, and shown at 150 in FIG. 2B, during the carrying outof an embodiment of the present invention, the mobile station willsignal the service provider to begin screening the incoming call. Whenthe service provider receives a command from the mobile station to beginscreening 414, the service provider will play a greeting for theincoming caller 416. For example, the service provider plays thefollowing message to the incoming caller. “Please state your name.”After playing the greeting, or prompt, the service provider initiatesrecording the incoming caller's response 418. As shown in FIG. 4B, ifthe service provider is disconnected for any reason 420, the serviceprovider will return to idle mode 400. The mobile station's reaction toor initiation of this disconnection is shown in FIG. 2C at 156. If therecording attempt fails 422, the service provider will communicate thatthe name collect failed to the mobile station 424. This communication ispreferably completed using USSD. The mobile station's receipt of theservice provider's communication of name collect failure is shown inFIG. 2C at 160 and described above. Once this communication is sent 424,the service provider disconnects 426 and returns to idle mode 400.

If the service provider successfully completes the recording of theincoming caller's response 428, the service provider communicates thecompletion to the mobile station 430 preferably using USSD. The mobilestation's receipt of this communication is shown in FIG. 2C at 164. Oncethe communication is completed 430, the service provider returns toawaiting-commands mode 410.

As described above, during the mobile station's carrying out of theembodiment of the present invention, the mobile station may signal theservice provider to handle an unanswered call. This signalling is shownin FIG. 2C at 182 and is described above. Referring to FIG. 4A, if,while waiting for commands 410, the service provider preferably receivesa USSD signal to handle an unanswered call 432 from the mobile station,the service provider initiates its handling of the unanswered call 434.The call is then handled by the service provider 436. The serviceprovider may record a voice message from the incoming caller. As seen inFIG. 4C, if the service provider is disconnected from the incomingcaller for some reason 438, the service provider will stop handling thecall 440 and will return to idle mode 400. Once the service providercompletes its handling of the call 442 without a prematuredisconnection, the service provider disconnects from the incoming callerand the mobile station 444 and returns to idle mode 400. Thedisconnection of the service provider by the mobile station 185 is shownin FIG. 2F.

As described above, during the mobile station's carrying out of theembodiment of the present invention, the mobile station may signal theservice provider to screen the incoming caller. This signalling toscreen 214 is shown in FIG. 2D and is described above. If, while waitingfor commands 410, the service provider receives a USSD signal toinitiating screening 446 from the mobile station, the service providerwill play the screening message 448 for the mobile station. For example,the service provider the service provider plays and the mobile stationreceives the following message: “Hello, [information provided by thecaller] is holding. Would you like to accept the call?” Then, theservice provider starts a timer 450 designated herein as T3. Timer T3 isused to govern the amount of time the service provider will wait for themobile station to accept or reject the incoming call. Preferably, thetimer is set to expire in approximately 3-6 seconds.

Then, the service provider awaits the mobile station's response to thescreening message 452. The service provider's receipt of the screeningmessage and consequent communication to the service provider of theresponse is described above and is shown in FIGS. 2D and 2E.

If the service provider is disconnected for any reason while awaitingthe mobile station's response 458, the service provider will stop thetimer T3 460. Then, the service provider will return to idle mode 400.

If the timer T3 expires before the mobile station user's response to thescreening message is received 454, then the service provider initiateshandling of the incoming call by the service provider 456. Theunanswered incoming call is handled by the service provider in themanner described above and shown in FIG. 4C. For example, a voicemessage from the incoming caller to the mobile station user is recorded.

If a negative response, or a rejection, is received by the serviceprovider from the mobile station 462, the service provider will stop thetimer T3 464 and signal the mobile station that the call was rejected466. This signal is preferably accomplished using USSD. The mobilestation's receipt of such a signal is shown in FIG. 2E at 236. Aftersignalling the mobile station 466, the service provider will return toawaiting-command mode 410. In the normal situation, the subsequentcommand from the mobile station will be that the service provider handlethe unanswered call (shown in FIG. 2E at 266). In such a case, theservice provider would carry out the necessary steps, beginning with thesteps shown as 434 and 436 in FIG. 4A.

If an affirmative response, or an acceptance, is received by the serviceprovider from the mobile station 468, the service provider will stop thetimer T3 470. Next, the service provider signals the mobile station thatthe call was accepted 472 using USSD. The mobile station's receipt ofsuch a signal is shown in FIG. 2E at 224. After signalling the mobilestation regarding acceptance 472, the service provider returns toawaiting-command mode 410. In the normal situation, the subsequentcommand from the mobile station will be a disconnect command (shown at296 in FIG. 2G) after the mobile station and the calling party areconnected in a separate connection (shown in FIG. 2G at 282, 294 anddescribed above).

The foregoing is provided for purposes of explanation and disclosure ofa preferred embodiment of the present invention. Modifications of andadaptations to the described embodiment will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art of the present invention and may be madewithout departing from the scope or spirit of the invention and thefollowing claims.

1. A method for screening a call from a caller, comprising: receiving a call from the caller at a station; answering the call at the station; putting the caller on hold; connecting with a service provider; putting the service provider on hold with the caller; and signaling to the service provider to begin screening the call.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the service provider is configured to prompt the caller for identification.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving identification information associated with the caller from the service provider.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the service provider is configured to send a user prompt to the station for determining whether to accept the call.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving user input indicating a desire to accept the call.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving user input indicating a desire to reject the call.
 7. A system for screening a call from a caller, comprising: a first receiving component configured to receive a call from the caller at a station and answer the call at the station; a first holding component configured to put the caller on hold; a connecting component configured to connect with a service provider; a second holding component configured to put the service provider on hold with the caller; and a signaling component configured to signal the service provider to begin screening the call.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the service provider is configured to prompt the caller for identification.
 9. The system of claim 7, further comprising a second receiving component configured to receive identification information associated with the caller from the service provider.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein the service provider is configured to send a user prompt to the station for determining whether to accept the call.
 11. The system of claim 7, further comprising a first electing component configured to receive a user input indicating a desire to accept the call.
 12. The system of claim 7, further comprising a second electing component configured to receive a user input indicating a desire to reject the call.
 13. A computer readable medium containing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to screen a call from a caller by: receiving a call from the caller at a station; answering the call at the station; putting the caller on hold; connecting with a service provider; putting the service provider on hold with the caller; and signaling to the service provider to begin screening the call.
 14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the service provider is configured to prompt the caller for identification.
 15. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions for receiving identification information associated with the caller from the service provider.
 16. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the service provider is configured to send a user prompt to the station for determining whether to accept the call.
 17. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions for receiving a user input indicating a desire to accept the call.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions for receiving a user input indicating a desire to reject the call. 